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Don’t miss your chance to listen, learn and communicate with the president of the state’s leading broad-based business association. At our Lunch with Brinegar stops around the state, Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar updates area business leaders on issues impacting your region, introduces Chamber programs and services that benefit your bottom line and answers your questions. Registration is FREE for Indiana Chamber members; $19 per person for non-members, and the events take place from 11:30- a.m.-1:00 p.m. local time.

Inside INdiana Business relays the story of one of Indiana’s fine educational institutions as its students work toward the ever-elusive game changer in the world of sustainable driving. Kudos to Rose-Hulman, and good luck in the competition:

Under development for two academic years, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology students are set to unveil a prototype advanced technology vehicle that has been designed to achieve improved fuel economy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions for EcoCAR: The Next Challenge, a national engineering design competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors Corporation to encourage energy-conscious advanced transportation engineers.

A special unveiling ceremony and information session is set for Friday, May 7, from 2:30-3:15 p.m. on the patio of the Hulman Union. The public is invited to come and examine the vehicle and talk with team members about the project.

Rose-Hulman’s vehicle will be shipped on Saturday, May 8, to participate in the EcoCAR’s Year II Competition Finals being conducted May 17-27 at the GM Desert Proving Ground in Yuma, Ariz., and at locations throughout San Diego, Calif. The vehicle will be judged in more than a dozen technical events, and must meet California Air Resources Board (CARB) zero emission vehicle (ZEV) regulations.

Rose-Hulman is the only Indiana college or university among 16 North American teams selected to participate in EcoCAR, a three-year competition that demonstrates leading-edge advanced transportation technologies.

"EcoCAR is real-world engineering. This experience gives Rose-Hulman students the opportunity for hands-on learning and valuable skills preparing them for careers as the next generation of engineers to develop clean vehicle solutions," said Rose-Hulman Team Co-Faculty Advisor Zac Chambers, associate professor of mechanical engineering. The team’s other advisor is Marc Herniter, professor of electrical and computer engineering.

ISU President Daniel J. Bradley explains how his university has played a significant role in American civil rights.

Tell us something that not enough people know about your college or university that makes it such a special place.

Indiana State University is proud to have one of the most diverse student populations in Indiana. Providing access and opportunity to higher education has been an important part of Indiana State’s history since it was created as the Indiana State Normal School in 1865.

Indiana State and its alumni have also played an important part in breaking racial barriers. Willa Brown Chappell, a 1927 graduate of Indiana State, was the first African-American officer in the Civil Air Patrol. A lifelong activist, Chappell lobbied the U.S. government to integrate both the U.S. Army Air Corps and the Civilian Pilot Training Program. She was appointed as coordinator of the CPTP in Chicago and trained more than 200 pilots including some of the Tuskegee Airmen.

With basketball tournament time upon us, many people may not be aware of the role Indiana State had in integrating the national basketball scene. In 1947, the Indiana State Sycamores men’s basketball team, coached by John Wooden, won the conference title and was invited to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament. (Coach Wooden, of course, would later go on to win 10 NCAA championships at UCLA.)

However, the tournament officials had one stipulation to their invitation. Clarence Walker, Indiana State’s one African-American player, could not attend. Coach Wooden and the entire team immediately declined the invitation.

The following year, the team again won the conference championship and was invited to the national tournament. This time, the NAIA relented and let Walker attend. He played in the 1948 tournament with the full and unrelenting support of his coaches and teammates, becoming the first African-American to play in a national collegiate basketball tournament.

Indiana State has also been an avenue to success for many first-generation college students. Helping students achieve their educational goals remains a top priority and is a key component of Indiana State’s new strategic plan, “The Pathway to Success.”

Indiana State University President Daniel J. Bradley explains ISU’s contribution in the context of statewide education.

Building on the Columbus and Richmond story of higher levels of collaboration featured in the current BizVoice, tell us how your institution fits in a statewide system of higher education with differentiated and complementary missions.

Indiana State prides itself in the fact that our graduates not only have a solid well-rounded education but that they also have the skills needed to excel in the workplace. One of those skills is the ability to collaborate as part of a team. This is becoming increasingly more important in today’s society as a way to maximize the strengths of colleagues and partner organizations while working toward a shared vision, avoiding unnecessary duplication and solving complex problems.

In some areas the result is a new emphasis on intra- and inter-professional education. For example, Indiana State University has joined with the Indiana University School of Medicine, Union Hospital and its Richard G. Lugar Center for Rural Health, Ivy Tech Community College of the Wabash Valley, the Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation and the City of Terre Haute to form the Rural Health Innovation Collaborative (RHIC).

RHIC is designed to help address Indiana’s critical shortage of health care professionals, especially in rural areas. Through RHIC, future doctors, nurses, physical therapists, physician assistants, and other health care workers have opportunities to work together while being trained, thus better simulating the work environment they will experience after completing their degree programs. In addition to the synergy this arrangement will provide, resources for equipment, labs and instruction can be maximized.

The Collaborative extends beyond education to encompass economic development with the goal of attracting a range of health care companies and start-ups that will benefit from business incubator services available from Indiana State, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and Ivy Tech.

RHIC will also address neighborhood development through the revitalization of a blighted area located between the campuses of Indiana State and Union Hospital. Housing development is planned to attract students, medical residents and retirees to a revitalized part of the Terre Haute community.

Achieving the vision of this innovative concept would not be possible without the active collaboration of the RHIC partners. RHIC illustrates how the whole can truly be greater than the sum of its parts.

This concept of intra- and inter-professional education is transferable to many other disciplines and is likely to become a catalyst for education reform.

Evansville is always an interesting locale. Residents there feel the disconnect from Central Indiana (it’s difficult to have a conversation without the Interstate 69 topic coming up, and I understand to some degree their frustration), but they don’t really have the big out-of-state neighbor (think Chicago, Cincinnati or Louisville) to turn to as an Indiana alternative.

I’ve had the opportunity to report on a number of intriguing stories out of the area known as the Pocket City, River City, Crescent City and probably a few other nicknames. I’m working on one for the next BizVoice magazine that focuses on plans for a new downtown arena and the economic development potential it brings.

Look for a major announcement on that project soon and some analysis in the upcoming BizVoice. Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, by the way, says that on its own scale this development will be every bit as important to his community as the Lucas Oil Stadiums and Conseco Fieldhouses are to Indianapolis.

We’ve also compiled community feature sections from Fort Wayne, South Bend and Terre Haute in 2009 editions of BizVoice. There is plenty going on in all corners of the state and in many cities and towns in between. We enjoy bringing you the stories, hope you enjoy reading them and welcome your ideas for future topics.

I wish I enjoyed exercising. But, the last time I went to the gym, I saw my life flash before my eyes while trying to lift weights. And, I’m not exactly the most coordinated athlete. But, I do like walking outdoors (what better way to get fit than while exploring nature?), which is why I’m intrigued by an initiative involving trails and greenways in Terre Haute.

Many projects currently taking place downtown were inspired by the National Road Heritage Trail, which will ultimately stretch 150 miles from the Indiana/Illinois border to the edge of Ohio. Locally, it encompasses the east end of Vigo County to the Wabash River and extends through downtown Terre Haute.

“The genesis of that trail system is right here in Terre Haute,” declares Pat Martin, chief planner for the City of Terre Haute Department of Engineering. “The vision for the trail was to establish an east-west backbone for the trail and greenway system and revitalize neighborhoods and redevelop adjacent land parcels.”

Since 2002, 23 miles of trails and greenways have been developed in the city. The system will be lengthened this year and eventually span approximately 55 miles.

Economic development projects spurred by the trail include:

Heritage Trail Apartments – a $40 million luxury apartment complex with 296 units located on the city’s east side within walking distance of Indiana State University and the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Multi-million dollar extension of Locust Street

Neighborhood and park connectivity and redevelopment

Increase in the value of adjacent brownfield properties

“Perhaps the biggest change of all is in the change in lifestyle for the community,” Martin observes. “This has brought about a greater interest in active lifestyles, not only with the National Heritage Trail, but with the entire trail and greenway system."

Learn about additional downtown revitalization projects, as well as other important initiatives taking place in Terre Haute, in the current issue of BizVoice®.

During the first analysis of the evening featuring Indiana Chamber political affairs director Michael Davis and Hoosier Access’ Josh Gillespie, Davis discussed several of the many key House races in this election.

He stressed the Chamber’s excitement that there are several small business owners up for election this year, labelling Randy Truitt (R), who’s vying for a seat in HD26, as "one of the best candidates we’ve come across." Davis explained Truitt’s race against John Polles (D) will be hotly contested, especially considering the college turnout on Purdue’s campus.

Davis also mentioned Mark Messmer in HD63 as a potential Republican pick-up. Messmer is battling John Burger (D) for the open seat.

Bob Heaton (R), former ISU hoops teammate of Larry Bird’s, is also in a tight contest against incumbent Vern Tincher (D) in HD46 in the Terre Haute area. The Chamber’s PAC (Indiana Business for Responsive Government) has been on the ground working to get Heaton elected.

Coming fresh off an extended Fourth of July weekend at Valparaiso University, it was perhaps fitting that I trekked around to some of Indiana’s other higher education destinations the following week.

First up was a trip to West Lafayette with Chamber President Kevin Brinegar. I guess he stays a little busier around here than I do, so to allow for some extra work to be done, I drove.

I don’t know what the Chamber was thinking not having seen me operate a vehicle, especially considering that I’m a young male who has disheveled hair and an extensive criminal record (just kidding, my hair is straight). But come Monday morning I was in the driver’s seat next to Kevin, who had declined my offer to take my rusted ’94 Accord in lieu of his own car, which he described as “fun.” It was.

In Boilermaker land, Kevin had a business lunch with Purdue President France Cordova, who I had the opportunity to meet. After meetings with Caterpillar and Wabash National, Chamber Membership Director Tim Brewer and I kept the college theme going by being roomies for a night at the local Holiday Inn. A Breakfast with Brinegar event for area Chamber members was held in the hotel the next morning. Then it was back to Indianapolis with yours truly at the wheel.

Within five minutes of returning to the office, I left with Senior VP Mark Lawrance for Terre Haute, where he was doing a press conference as part of the now ongoing “Letters to Our Leaders” campaign. We had an outstanding Lebanese lunch by Indiana State’s campus and then met with the Terre Haute Chamber staff and Gary Morris, president of Clabber Girl and a Chamber board member who was taking part in the press conference with Mark.

After I had passed out media packets to the newspaper and TV crews that had assembled for the conference, Mark suggested we take the more scenic route back to Indy via U.S. 40. The historic road took us all the way back to Washington Street and ended my whirlwind of a tour. I’m pleased to report I fulfilled my chauffer duties without incident.

Now to decide between Muncie and Bloomington for my Frequent Driver Miles trip.